Black British Theatre Awards

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The Black British Theatre Awards (BBTAs) have been presented annually since 2019 to recognise excellence among Black performers, creatives and productions in the UK.

Contents

History

The BBTAs were established in 2019 and first awarded in October of that year, to coincide with Black History Month. They were created by Solange Urdang and Omar F. Okai. [1] [2] The Awards celebrate black artists and creatives who have contributed to British theatre beginning with the 1950s, highlighting a lack of recognition towards Black talent and with the hope that the prize will improve their visibility and recognition. [3]

Lucy St Louis, the BBTAs Best Female Actor in a Musical in 2021, was the first Black female actress to play Christine Daaé in the London production of The Phantom of the Opera. [4] Following this, she played Glinda in Wicked as Glinda opposite Alexia Khadime as Elphaba, marking the first time both leading roles were played by actors of color. [5]

In 2022 the awards' public votes quadrupled from the previous year. [6]

Eligibility for nomination

Anyone can submit one nomination for BBTAs each year (August to July) [7] by completing an online form. Nominees must have lived in the UK for at least 3 years to be considered or be British Nationals and "of Black of African or Caribbean descent or of Mixed Ethnicity". Productions must have at least 50% eligible performers, or the production was based on black subject matter. [8] A shortlist of nominees is announced before the ceremony. [9]

Ceremony

The awards ceremony has been hosted Cynthia Erivo, Danny Sapani, Giles Terera and Layton Williams, among others.

The 2019 BBTAs were held at The Old Finsbury Town Hall in Islington on 27 October, hosted by Ore Oduba. [8] [10]

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic theatre shutdown in London, the 2020 BBTAs were broadcast on Sky Arts on 25 October and took place, with social distancing rules in place, at the Young Vic, [11] hosted by Eddie Nestor. [12] Founders and directors Urdang and Okai said regarding the year's awards, "with UK Theatre coming to a standstill and The Black Lives Matter movement protests [we] hope to bring positivity to such a difficult time". [13]

The 2021 BBTAs were held on 21 October at The Old Finsbury Town Hall, hosted by Erivo and Sapani. [14] Guest presenters included previous winners Miriam-Teak Lee and Layton Williams, as well as Jason Pennycooke. [15] [16]

The 2022 BBTAs were held on 16 October 2022 at the National Theatre, again hosted by Sapani. [17] [18]

The 2023 BBTAs were held on 29 October 2023 at the National Theatre, Lyttelton. [19] [20] [21]

The 2024 BBTAs [22] were held on 4 November 2024 at the Lyceum Theatre, sponsored by Disney Theatrical Group. [7] [23]

The 2025 BBTAs nomination period opened on 1 June 2025.[ citation needed ]

Award categories

In addition to acting, director and production categories, an award is given to people who identify, nurture and develop talent through the stage school process; awards are given for a body of work, including a Lifetime Achievement award. [24]

Drama

Musical Theatre

Other

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Meet The Founders". Black British Theatre Awards. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  2. ↑ Ludmon, Mark (7 March 2019). "New awards to recognise black talent in British theatre - Newsplate". britishtheatre.com. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  3. ↑ BBTA (2023-05-22). "The 2021 Black British Theatre Awards Winners". Black British Theatre Awards. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  4. ↑ "Lucy St Louis, The World's 1st black Christine Daae in The Phantom of the Opera". Black History Month 2023. 2008-02-14. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  5. ↑ Gans, Andrew (2023-03-07). "Lucy St. Louis and Alexia Khadime Make History in London's Wicked Beginning March 7". Playbill.com.
  6. ↑ "The 2022 Black British Theatre Awards – RADA". www.rada.ac.uk. 17 October 2022. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  7. 1 2 "Black British Theatre Awards 2024 winners announced". www.westendtheatre.com. 2024-11-04. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  8. 1 2 "Winners in first Black British Theatre Awards 2019 – Newsplate". britishtheatre.com. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  9. ↑ "Black British Theatre Awards announces new categories and online ceremony". The Stage. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  10. ↑ Longman, Will (2019-09-19). "Shortlist for first Black British Theatre Awards 2019 announced". London Theatre. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  11. ↑ "Nominees for 2020 Black British Theatre Awards announced". London Theatre. 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  12. ↑ Thompson, Jessie (2020-10-26). "Miriam-Teak Lee and Rakie Ayola win at Black British Theatre Awards". The Standard. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  13. ↑ Thomas, Sophie (2020-10-21). "Nominees for 2020 Black British Theatre Awards announced". London Theatre. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  14. ↑ Sherwood, Harriet (21 November 2021). "And Breathe dominates Black British theatre awards". The Guardian . Retrieved 14 June 2025.
  15. ↑ admin (2023-05-22). "The 2021 Black British Theatre Awards Winners". Black British Theatre Awards. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  16. ↑ "Black British Theatre Awards 2021: Winners in full". The Stage. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  17. ↑ Wood, Alex (2022-10-16). "Black British Theatre Awards 2022 winners announced" . Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  18. ↑ Masso, Giverny (16 October 2022). "Black British Theatre Awards 2022: Winners in full". The Stage. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  19. ↑ admin (2023-05-22). "Venue and Date Announcement for BBTAs 2023!". Black British Theatre Awards. Retrieved 2023-06-15.
  20. ↑ Raymond, Natasha (2023-10-30). "The Winners of the Black British Theatre Awards 2023". Spotlight. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
  21. ↑ "Black British Theatre Awards 2023: nominations in full". The Stage. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  22. ↑ "The Black British Theatre Awards 2024: nominations in full". The Stage. Retrieved 2025-06-21.
  23. ↑ "The Black British Theatre Awards 2024". alt-africa.com. 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2025-06-20.
  24. ↑ "New awards to recognise black talent in British theatre - Newsplate". britishtheatre.com. Retrieved 2024-10-01.
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